Flagg Nursery School

112481 Unique Reference Number DERBYSHIRE LEA LEA 278939 Inspection number 11 May 2006 to 11 May 2006 Inspection dates Mrs. Sue Hall LI Reporting inspector

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This inspection was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Flagg School address Nursery Type of school SK17 9QT Community School category 3 to 4 Age range of pupils 0129885208 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 0129885208 Fax number 43 Number on roll Mrs.R Allen Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs. Lorraine Sinclair-Evans Headteacher Not applicable Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 278939 11 May 2006 - 3 to 4 11 May 2006 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied.

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by an Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

This is a very small nursery school serving several isolated rural villages in North West Derbyshire. The area is average in terms of socio-economic features and all children are of White British heritage. The movement of children to and from other schools is average, as is the proportion with learning difficulties and/or disabilities.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Flagg Nursery School, 11 May 2006 to 11 May 2006

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Grade: 2

This is a good school with some outstanding features, particularly the exemplary leadership of the headteacher. The nursery is at the very heart of this quite remote local community. The school meets the needs of the children well, provides good value for money and has the capacity to continue to improve. The school's view of how well it is performing matches that of the inspection. Children enter the nursery with very mixed early learning experiences and wide ranging skills. Overall, their knowledge and understanding are average and most are on line to meet the targets for their age. While children are confident and happy individuals, several initially have limited communication skills and require additional support. Children have positive attitudes and although often quiet are keen and eager to learn. The quality of teaching and learning is good and enables children to make good progress and achieve well. The

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Grade: 2

curriculum is good and staff make very effective use of the local area, visits and visitors to extend the children's knowledge of the world around them. The care, guidance and support, including for those with learning or behavioural difficulties or disabilities, are outstanding. Parents and governors think very well of the school and headteacher, who provides outstanding leadership. There is a need to extend further the procedures to monitor and evaluate the work of the school to identify what needs to be done next to continue to improve.

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What the school should do to improve further

- Further develop the opportunities for staff, and where appropriate governors, to monitor what the nursery provides in order to identify the further steps for improvement.

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Grade: 2

Children enter the nursery at the age of three with very wide ranging early learning experiences. Some have attended other local groups, although because of the isolation of the area, others have more limited experiences. Most are happy and confident and have a natural interest in the world around them. However, several children have limited skills, particularly in speaking and listening, and early reading and writing. Many make rapid progress because of well planned and interesting activities and good quality teaching. Whilst some children's knowledge and understanding of the world beyond their local area can be restricted, many have a good awareness of things that are living and growing. Overall progress and achievement are good. The school has a good programme of support for all. When they leave the nursery they are on line to reach the targets expected for their age and sometimes they exceed these, especially

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Grade: 2

in their personal and social development. Boys and girls make equally good progress, as do those of higher attainment and others with learning difficulties. The school sets individual targets for the children to achieve which are appropriately challenging. 2 Inspection Report: Flagg Nursery School, 11 May 2006 to 11 May 2006

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Grade: 2

Children's personal development and well-being are good overall. They are happy, have positive attitudes to their learning and behaviour is usually good. Occasionally some struggle to concentrate or take turns but most do this well. They are very enthusiastic, as noted in their eagerness to share their experiences of visiting Chatsworth Farmyard the previous day. The children's personal, social and emotional development underpins many aspects of nursery life. Well organised snack times and cookery sessions encourage the children to make healthy choices. The exciting outdoor play area enables them to play in an active manner. The 'key worker' system enables staff to get to know well, the children they are responsible for. This ensures they feel safe and secure and develop good relationships. Most are safety conscious and show a clear concern for others. As part of the school and local community they develop a

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Grade: 2

growing understanding of the responsibilities they have towards each other, which prepares them well for later life. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are good. Staff make clear to children what is acceptable or not and work hard to enable children to develop an understanding of cultures other than their own. Attendance is good.

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are good overall, with some strong features. The small team of teachers and support staff work very effectively together with a clear understanding of and commitment to their roles. There is a generous number of staff, all of whom have good expectations of children's learning and behaviour. There is a good emphasis on encouraging the children to develop their speaking and listening skills. However, staff should ensure that no opportunities are missed to model specific vocabulary and ensure children repeat and use this in order to further develop their own language. Outdoor play activities are a joy. They are planned very effectively in order to make best use of the environment and provide a good range of experiences that extend early skills well. A good range of assessment procedures are used to track the progress children make and to set individual targets. Such information is used effectively to

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Grade: 2

plan a series of challenging activities which move the children's learning forward. Children identified for additional help are supported well through activities that offer a different level of challenge.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum of the school is good and has some strong elements. It meets the children's diverse learning needs well. The school actively promotes environmental awareness and community involvement to broaden the children's early learning 3 Inspection Report: Flagg Nursery School, 11 May 2006 to 11 May 2006 experiences. There is a wide range of themes and activities, including the opportunity to learn about other cultures. A strong feature is the very effective use of the exciting outdoor play area, which encourages role-play and turn taking and develops children's awareness of how to care for their surroundings. The school makes very good use of the local community, visits and visitors to extend learning, which has a positive impact on personal development. Staff carefully plan a good range of activities that enable the children to make choices and develop independence so that they start to develop

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Grade: 2

a range of basic skills. However, there is a need for a sharper focus on developing a wider vocabulary to enhance learning even further.

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Grade: 1

The care, guidance and support of children are outstanding, which is a judgement that exceeds the school's own evaluation. Children and their families are known very well by the staff team. They are extremely responsive to those with identified needs and occasional tantrums. The effective use of a 'key worker' system ensures all children have someone to turn to when necessary. Children have the opportunity to discuss with staff what progress they think they are making and try to identify what they need to get better at. There is a very good programme of activities that supports children in the transition to other schools. Child protection procedures are appropriate and risk assessments support the focus on staying safe. The school has been very responsive to parental requests for additional activities. It provides extended care through 'The Tractor Club' at lunchtimes and supports groups of 0-3 year olds which are organised

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Grade: 1

by a member of staff. The school employs a good range of checks of children's progress. This is continually tracked and monitored with information in individual progress folders which are shared well with parents. Information is used effectively to inform teaching.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management of the school are good overall with some excellent features. The headteacher, who has been in post two years, provides outstanding leadership. Not only does she lead by example in teaching, but guides the small staff team in a very effective forward looking manner. Parents and governors think highly of the head's personal and organisational skills, reporting that 'whilst the school has always been good it is even better now'. The head has ensured that all policies and procedures have been put in place and that communication with parents is of high quality. Parents are very well informed and consulted about areas for further improvement, including the well advanced plans to develop the adjoining chapel as an additional facility. There are sound procedures to monitor and evaluate the quality of the work of the school. However, this is not as rigorous or extensive as it should

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Grade: 2

be. There is room to develop monitoring further in order to identify the additional areas for improvement such as a greater focus on developing children's vocabulary. 4 Inspection Report: Flagg Nursery School, 11 May 2006 to 11 May 2006 .

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set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s

website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 5 Inspection Report: Flagg Nursery School, 11 May 2006 to 11 May 2006

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Overall

Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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learners?

NA 1 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? NA 2 The quality and standards in foundation stage NA 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation NA Yes The capacity to make any necessary improvements NA Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

NA 2 How well do learners achieve? NA 3 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

NA 2 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners NA 2 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

NA 2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 2 The behaviour of learners NA 2 The attendance of learners NA 2 How well learners enjoy their education NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 2 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community NA 2 How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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needs and interests of learners?

NA 1 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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needs and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low.

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and supporting all learners?

NA 2 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 3 How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review NA 1 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can NA 1 How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money NA 3 The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities NA Yes The adequacy and suitability of staff to ensure that learners are protected

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The extent to which schools enable learners to be healthy

Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to eat and drink healthily Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to take regular exercise Yes Learners are discouraged from smoking and substance abuse Yes Learners are educated about sexual health

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The extent to which providers ensure that learners stay safe

Yes Procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements Yes Risk assessment procedures and related staff training are in place Yes Action is taken to reduce anti-social behaviour, such as bullying and racism Yes Learners are taught about key risks and how to deal with them

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The extent to which learners make a positive contribution

Yes Learners are helped to develop stable, positive relationships Yes Learners, individually and collectively, participate in making decisions that affect them Yes Learners are encouraged to initiate, participate in and manage activities in school and the wider community

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The extent to which schools enable learners to achieve economic well-being

Yes There is provision to promote learners’ basic skills Yes Learners have opportunities to develop enterprise skills and work in teams NA Careers education and guidance is provided to all learners in key stage 3 and 4 and the sixth form NA Education for all learners aged 14–19 provides an understanding of employment and the economy

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

First of all can I say a big 'thank you' for making me feel welcome when I visited your nursery and for talking to me about the different things that you like doing. It was good to hear how you feel that the grown-ups take good care of you. I have told the staff that you usually behave well and try hard. They are proud of you. I know that you like your nursery. I have talked with your headteacher, the staff and the governors about how they can find ways to be even better. They are going to check how well you learn in lessons, look at your books and talk to you to see if you are doing the best that you can. Your headteacher has got some really good ideas to make the school an even better place. You can all play an important part in this by working as hard as you can.

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